Current Affairs, August 2021

31st August, Current Affairs:

• India's gross domestic product (GDP) shot up to record a 20.1 per cent rise in the April-June period or the first quarter of 2021-22.
• India has held the first officially confirmed meeting with the Taliban. It was conducted between Indian Ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal and Sher Mohammed Stanekzai, head of the Political Office of the Taliban based in Doha.
• India's Mariyappan Thangavelu won the silver medal while Sharad Kumar brought home the bronze in men's high jump (T63).
• Nine new judges, including three women, were administered oath of office as judges of the Supreme Court, taking its strength to 33.
• World's highest motorable road at 18,600 ft inaugurated in Ladakh. The road stretch passing through the Kela Pass at 18,600 feet will be the world’s highest motorable way.
• South African fast bowling great Dale Steyn today announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. In his 17-year career, which saw him play in 93 Tests, 125 ODIs and 47 T20Is for the South Africans. Steyn had retired from Test cricket in 2019.

30th August, Current Affairs:

• Shooter Avani Lekhara became the first Indian woman to win a Paralympic gold medal as she topped the podium in women's 10m Air Rifle Standing (SH1) event at the Tokyo Paralympics.
• Discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya clinched a silver medal in the men's F56 event in the Paralympics.
• India's Devendra Jhajharia won silver and Sundar Singh Gurjar took bronze in men's javelin (F46) event at Tokyo Paralympics.
• India's Sumit Antil won the gold medal in the men's javelin (F64) with a world record throw of 68.55m.

29th August, Current Affairs:

• National Sports Day is celebrated today on the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.
• Indian table tennis player Bhavina Patel wins silver medal in her maiden Paralympic Games after going down 0-3 to world number one Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the women's singles class 4 final in Tokyo.
• India's Nishad Kumar clinched the silver medal in the men's high jump (T46/47) category at the ongoing Tokyo Paralympics.

27th August, Current Affairs:

• At least 60 Afghans and 13 US troops were killed and hundreds were injured as two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to the Kabul airport.
• Bhavina Patel scripted history by becoming the first Indian table tennis player to secure a medal in the Paralympics after she entered the semi-finals with a win over world number 5 Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia in the women's singles Class 4 event.

24th August, Current Affairs:

• Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated India's first smog tower at Connaught Place in Delhi.
• The 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympics starts from today in Tokyo.
• Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai flagged off admissions under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in undergraduate colleges across Karnataka, making the state the first in India to implement the NEP.


21st August, Current Affairs:

• The festival of Onam is celebrated today.
• Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh died today in New Delhi due to sepsis and multi-organ failure. He was 89.

20th August, Current Affairs:

• Malaysia’s king appointed Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the prime minister today, replacing Muhyiddin Yassin, who stepped down this week after losing his parliamentary majority.
• India's Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won the mixed doubles title at the WTT Contender event in Budapest, Hungary.
• India's drug regulator today approved Zydus Cadila's three-dose COVID-19 DNA vaccine for emergency use in adults and children aged 12 years and above. It is the 1st Covid Vaccine For Children Above 12 Approved In India.

19th August, Current Affairs:

• The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Haiti over the weekend has risen to 1,419, while the number of injured people has grown to 6,000.
• The Indian mixed 4x400m relay team won a bronze to clinch the country's fifth medal in the history of World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had developed an advanced Chaff technology to safeguard the fighter aircraft of the Air Force against hostile radar threats.

16th August, Current Affairs:

• Taliban have taken control of the capital city of Kabul after Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and sought asylum in Tajikistan.
• The Union Government has decided to observe 14th August every year as the day to commemorate their sacrifice.

15th August, Current Affairs:

• India celebrates 75th Independence Day today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hoisted the national flag and address the nation from the Red Fort in New Delhi.
• Famous German footballer Gerd Muller has died at the age of 75. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goal scorers of all-time, Mueller scored 68 goals in 62 international matches for West Germany and also won the World Cup in 1974.

14th August, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the much-awaited Vehicle Scrappage Policy.
• President Ram Nath Kovind has approved 144 Gallantry awards to Armed Forces, police and paramilitary personnel on the eve of Independence Day. These include one Ashok Chakra, one Kirti Chakra, 15 Shaurya Chakras, four Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 116 Sena Medals (Gallantry), five Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and two Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).
• Thol and Wadhwana from Gujarat and Sultanpur and Bhindawas from Haryana have been recognised as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The number of Ramsar sites in India is now 46.

12th August, Current Affairs:

• India's cleanest city Indore now been declared the first "water plus" city of India under the Swachh Survekshan 2021.
• ISRO's second mission of the year to place an earth observation satellite by a GSLV rocket could not be accomplished fully due to performance anomaly in the cryogenic stage of the rocket.
• Chelsea defeated Villarreal 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to win the UEFA Super Cup in Belfast.
• India's javelin star Neeraj Chopra has moved up 14 places to the World No. 2 in the latest World Athletics Men's Javelin Rankings.

11th August, Current Affairs:

• A study on mixing Covishield and Covaxin, the two main vaccines used in India's COVID-19 vaccination programme, has been given the go-ahead by the Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI).
• The Rajya Sabha has passed a key Constitutional amendment bill that proposes to restore the power of states and Union Territories to make their own OBC lists for the purpose of reservation in jobs and educational institutes. The bill was already been passed by the Lok Sabha.
• Argentina forward Lionel Messi who had left Barcelona after 21 years last week, has signed a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain football club.

9th August, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a UN Security Council (UNSC) Open Debate via video conferencing today. This is the first time that an Indian Prime Minister would be presiding over a meeting of the UN Security Council.
• International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2021 observed today.

8th August, Current Affairs:

• Tokyo Olympics 2020 closing ceremony took place today. Wrestler Bajrang Punia led the Indian contingent out during the parade of athletes during the closing ceremony of Tokyo 2020. India won a total of 7 medals in this Olympics. India ended up surpassing their previous best tally at an Olympics of six medals, which the contingent achieved at the 2012 London Olympics. United States finished the Games with 113 medals, the most amongst all nations.
• For the first time, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police has inducted two women officers in combat. Two women, Prakriti and Diksha, joined the ITBP as combatised officers after completing their training at the academy in Mussoorie.
• England pacer James Anderson overtake former India spinner Anil Kumble to become the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. The 39-year-old took his tally in Tests to 621 wickets ahead of Kumble's 619. He is behind first-placed Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and second-placed Shane Warne (708).

7th August, Current Affairs:

• India's Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal in the men's javelin throw event with a throw of 87.58m in his second attempt. This is the first ever Olympic Gold for India in the history of Athletics. This is also the second individual Gold in Olympics after Abhinav Bindra won in 2008.
• US pharmaceutical Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine has received emergency use approval in India.
• Wrestler Bajrang Punia won bronze after defeating Kazakhstan's Daulet Niyazbekov in men's 65kg freestyle match in Tokyo Olympics.
• National Handloom Day is observed today.

6th August, Current Affairs:

• Xiaomi has beaten both Samsung and Apple to emerge as the number one smartphone vendor in the world during June 2021.
• Louis Vuitton chairman Bernard Arnault has surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become the world's richest person, according to Forbes real-time billionaires list.
• The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting honour of India, has been renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced today.
• India and China have undertaken disengagement from Gogra area of Eastern Ladakh following an agreement at the 12th round of Corps Commander talks.

5th August, Current Affairs:

• The Indian men's hockey team beats Germany 5-4 to win Olympic men's hockey medal after 41 years. The last time India had won a medal in hockey was at the 1980 Moscow Games where they got the gold.
• Wrestler Ravi Dahiya wins the silver medal after losing the wrestling freestyle 57kg final against ROC's Zavur Uguev.
• Parliament has passed the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Bill, 2021. The Bill provides for the constitution of a Commission for better co-ordination, research, identification, and resolution of problems related to air quality in the NCR and adjoining areas.
• Parliament has passed the Essential Defence Services Bill, 2021. The Bill allows the central government to prohibit strikes, lock-outs, and lay-offs in units engaged in essential defence services.
• Thailand has banned sunscreens containing chemicals that damage coral from all of its marine national parks.


4th August, Current Affairs:

• The Border Roads Organisation has constructed the world's highest road in eastern Ladakh at Umlingla Pass at an altitude of 19,300 feet. It betters previous record of a road in Bolivia at 18,953 ft.
• India's Lovlina Borgohain wins the bronze medal from the Tokyo Olympics after losing her semi-final bout in women's welterweight (64-69kg) boxing to Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey. Borgohain became the third Indian boxer after Vijender Singh and MC Mary Kom to win a medal at the Olympic Games.
• Indian wrestler, Ravi Dahiya defeated Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan in the semi-finals of the men's Freestyle 57kg wrestling and assured the country of a medal.

2nd August, Current Affairs:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched e-RUPI, an electronic voucher-based digital payment solution. e-RUPI is a person-specific and purpose-specific payment system that will ensure that the benefits reach its intended beneficiaries in a targeted and leak-proof manner.
• Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha, has become the first city in India to have vaccinated 100 per cent of its population against Covid-19.
• India ended their 49-year wait at the Olympics on Sunday by reaching the men's hockey semi-final after a comprehensive 3-1 win over Great Britain in their quarterfinal at Tokyo 2020.
• Johnson & Johnson has withdrawn its proposal seeking approval of its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine in India.
• The Indian women’s hockey team scripted history by qualifying for the Olympic Games semifinals for the first time, beating three-time champions Australia by a solitary goal.
• Kamalpreet Kaur finished sixth in the women's discus throw final in Tokyo Olympics with a best attempt of 63.70.

1st August, Current Affairs:

• India's PV Sindhu defeated He Bing Jiao of China to win the women's singles bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics. With this win, Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win two individual Olympic medals.
• Australia swimmer Emma McKeon becomes the first female to win seven medals at single Olympics. She won her seventh medal in Tokyo, a feat no other female swimmer has ever achieved at a single Olympics.
• The European Space Agency launched the world's first commercial fully re-programmable satellite, Eutelsat Quantum from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
• India has assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the month of August.
• Alexander Zverev defeated Karen Khachanov in straight sets to seal themen's singles title at the Tokyo Olympics and win Germany's first tennis gold since 1992.
• Italy's Lamont Marcell Jacobs wins the Olympic gold in the men's 100m with 9.80 seconds.